Rick Perry Signs Texas Congressional Map Into Law

Perry signed the interim map into law on Wednesday. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File
Photo)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed the Lone Star State’s new congressional map into law, ending the state’s long and twisted redistricting saga of the 2012 cycle.

A Perry aide confirmed to CQ Roll Call that the GOP governor inked the House district boundaries, passed by the legislature in a special session, on Wednesday afternoon.

The governor’s approval comes one day after the Supreme Court gutted a provision in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that forced Texas to seek federal approval for any changes to its voting laws — including its congressional maps. The state was one of several covered by Section 5 because, according to the original law, it had a history of discrimination in its voting practices.

But the high court ruled Tuesday that the formula used to select these states was outdated, allowing these previously covered states, like Texas, to change their voting laws and maps without federal approval anymore. Within hours of the high court’s decision, Texas officialsannounced they would implement a new identification requirement for voters — a law that had been previously blocked by federal officials under Section 5.

Earlier last year, Texas Republicans attempted to pass a more aggressive map, but a federal court in Washington, D.C., struck it down also under Section 5. A San Antonio-based federal court ordered lawmakers to use an interim map instead.

Last month, Perry called the state legislature into a special session to deal with the congressional and legislative maps. Republicans, who dominate both chambers in Texas, intended to pass the court-ordered interim map used in the 2012 elections into law. They accomplished
that this week, sending the maps to the governor’s desk.